


I Choose You

by tinknevertalks



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: AU - pokemon, F/M, Helen the Pokémon trainer, Pre-ship fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 13:43:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20426933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinknevertalks/pseuds/tinknevertalks
Summary: Helen needs the badge from Old City's gym before she heads off to the Pokémon league.





	I Choose You

**Author's Note:**

> The Sanctuary Discord server is almost as mad as the AT one, and xbleeple pointed out (yesterday) that it was Helen's birthday, why weren't we doing anything?! I had just arrived in Cerulean Cave at like 2340 last night, so said, "Gimme ten minutes!" It took a bit longer than ten minutes (about forty, if I'm honest - with stopping to prep a bottle) but this is what came out. (Gonna explore the cave this evening maybe, or play Crash. Not sure yet.)
> 
> Unbeta'd, so any mistakes are mine (lemme know if you catch any I've missed). Hope you all enjoy, and please let me know what you think. :D
> 
> (Also, I've changed this from being 1/? to 1/1 as I'm not 100% sure there'll be more but its sorta finished as is.)

The sun shone over Old City that day, the air hot and stifling, Helen's hair nudging towards frizzy as she strode along the pavements. There was a gym here she needed to defeat before she could head off to the League. No-one knew much about the leader, only that he liked to battle in the dark. Helen laughed off the rumours he was a vampire, but recently her dreams had been odd. What if he was a vampire?

Over her shoulder, in her open backpack, Vulpix gave a small cry. Had Helen been younger she would've had to have carried the fire pokémon in her arms, but age had given her strength. "What's that, Vulpix? I missed the turn?" Looking around and wishing she had a Revive for her Gardevoir, she realised that yes, she had indeed missed her turning in thinking about the mysterious leader. What kind of trainer was he?

Asking in the Pokécentre yielded nothing but a few odd looks from the patrons (one even going so far as to ask if she wasn't maybe a little too old to be on her first Pokémon adventure. She'd smiled and asked the same of him, and was given a TM as a gift), whilst Nurse Joy merely sighed and looked wistfully out the doors.

The same happened in the Pokémart. No TMs were given there. Sighing, Helen pulled down her hat and marched over to the gym. Reading the signage, all she gleaned was the leader's name.

_Nikola Tesla, the child of lightning._

Her fingers instinctively ran over the balls on her belt, each carrying a different pokémom. Child of lightning didn't sound so bad, definitely a step away from vampiric. But did that mean he was an Electric type user? If so, Dugtrio would need to be used first. Unless he used an Emolga, or a Magneton. But she had Vulpix if he used anything Steel type...

Opening the doors, she tried getting her eyes to adjust, but to no avail. Cursing her lack of foresight, she decided against trying to teach Flash to any of her party, praying that her path to the leader was clear of obstacles. Stepping past the stone guardians the room vibrated, gentle and insistent, as lights flooded the battle field. Where were the other trainers?

"Well, if he thinks he's good enough to train alone, he hasn't met Helen Magnus," she told her Gardevoir, floating nearby.

"But I have met Helen Magnus," a voice called from the inky darkness surrounding the field. "If she hadn't been so stubborn about her choice in career, she'd be a Gym Leader now, too."

Oh. Her cheeks burned just a touch. _That_ Nikola Tesla. Her next door neighbour in her home village, her self-designated rival in all aspects of life, including Pokémon, her one time best friend until--

"Why are you here, Helen?"

"I need the badge," she called out, trying to find him.

She heard the smirk in his voice. "So you've finally come to your senses."

"About?"

It was as if he hadn't heard her. He just carried on regardless. "And now you need the badge, from me?"

"The badge from the Old City's gym leader, Niko."

He tutted. Tutted! As if she was the insolent child. The swirling, churning anger in her stomach boiled over. "That's just like you Nikola, not listening to a word I say. You know why I didn't come with you, but you just play pretend that it's all my fault we didn't travel together. We were ten!"

"The same age as all other trainers," he argued, never stepping into the light. "Now look at you, playing catch up. I thought Helen Magnus hated that?"

"I thought Nikola Tesla couldn't be contained to one place, but here we are." Helen paced her half of the field. "Please, battle me." She shrugged, looking vaguely into the darkness where she thought his voice originated, "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

The lights went out.

When they came back, Nikola stood before her, wearing a suit and tie in the manner befitting the gym. His eyes glittered, and for a moment Helen didn't breathe. When did they become so blue? And that annoying smirk, perpetually playing on his lips, looked almost handsome up close like this. The only thing separating them was the white line of the playing field. Moments passed, and Helen thought she saw his eyes widen a fraction when she licked her lips. "Well?" she finally asked. Her voice was a shadow of the yell she'd used mere minutes earlier.

"I accept your challenge."

**Author's Note:**

> Also, happy birthday Amanda Tapping - thank you so much for the wonderful characters you've portrayed over the years. I hope you have a wonderful day!
> 
> (Yes, I'm aware it's doubtful she'd see this, but as Frankie says in _Super Monsters_, "It could happen, you never know." XD)


End file.
